Upholstery support



Aug. 24 Q1926 4 "1,597,012 J. L. CABLE UPHOLSTERY SUPPORT I Fileq. July 5. 1924 Patented Aug. 24, 1926.

JULIUS CABLE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

UPHOLSTERY SUPPORT.

Application filed July 5,

This invention relates to that class of upholstery supports in which a series of spiral springs are vertically mounted on horizontal cross bars at their lower ends and are arranged in sufficiently close proximity to provide a yieldable surface at their upper ends for a seat, cushion or the like.

In upholstery supports of this character,

it is customary to place the springs under some restraint, and to hold their upper coils approximatelyat a uniform level, and various means have been employed to accomplish this purpose, including the enclosure'of such springs in a textile casing, but so far as I am aware no satisfactory means have been employed in connection with spirally coiled springs which are mounted at their lower ends on cross bars and extend upward in spirals of increasing diameter. Moreover, ditficulty has been'encountered in providing a satisfactory means for preventing such springs from turning around, so as to become disconnected from the cross bars to which they were attached.

The objects of my invention are to provide a practical means for enclosing spiral springs, mounted as above described in a textile casing, so that the expense of applying such casing will not be objectionable and the construction when produced will be more durable and effective than those pre viously produced. Also to provide an improved means for attaching the bottom end of the springs to semi tubu'lar metal supporting cross bars, so that they may be readily placed in position and when so placed will not become disconnected from said bars, thereby making the use ofsuch bars practical and advantageous.

r I accomplish these objects in the manner and by the means and method hereinafter disclosed and'as illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a combined side elevation and vertical sectional view of a spring section embodying my invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are detail side and edge views respectively, of a textile casing sec- 7 'tion which I employ.

Fig. 4 is a. vertical'sectional view showing a stage in the process of placing the casing in position on the spring.

Fig. 55 is a sectional view at line 55 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 6 and 7 are detail views of one-form 1924. Serial No. 724,325.

of connection of the springs with the cross bar which I employ.

Fig. 8 is a detail view of another form of connection.

lVhile I have shown in the drawings only one seat-supporting section, comprising the supporting bar and springs mounted thereon, of several sectionswhich are ordinarily employed to make up a complete cushion support, it will be understood that such other sections involve mere duplication.

As shown in the drawing, a cross bar 1 of semi-tubular metal is provided, which is adapted to be mounted at its ends on a suitable support. A series of spirally coiled wire springs 2 are provided which are mounted thereon and connected thereto in the following manner two holes are bored 1n the opposite side portions of the semi-tubular bar 1 for each spring, said holes -be-' ing of such size and in such position that the end portion of the lower end coil of the spring may be inserted in one hole, while another portion of said coil rests on the upper side of the bar, and then by turning the coil about its axial line, the end will pass through the opposite hole, the coil being practically screwed into the bar until the end of the spring abuts with the sideyas shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In the construction shown in Figs. 4 to 7 the cross bar is shown as supported with its concave side up, so that the second coil of the spring rests on one edge of the bar and, with this construction, to prevent possibility of the spring unscrewing from the holes in the bar, the extreme end of the wire may be slightly upturned or otherwise bent so that it will engagethe side of the bar and prevent unscrewing beyond a certain point. In Fig. 8 an arrangement is shown when the cross bar is supported with its convex side up. In thisinstance the two holes are bored in the opposite side portions of the semi-tubular bar 11 and the lower coil 21 is screwed therein in the manner before described,'and, to prevent possi-' bility of unscrewing, the endportion of the lower coil is preferably bent slightly and caught against the inner side of one of the edge portions of the bar as shown in Fig. 8. In each instance the holes through which the lower coil of the spring is screwed'are formed to correspond approximately to the course which the end of thecoil will follow 7 when the coil is screwed into the bar. In

either position of the cross bar one portion of the lowermost coil rests on the upper side of the bar in transverse relation and the opposite portion of the same coil is disposed in the bar at a somewhat lower elevation, depending on the formation of the spiral, so that opposite portions of the coil are uniformly supported, thus overcoming in a large degree the tendency which such springs have to tip and become distorted in use.-

The above described arrangement is further advantageous, whether used, or not used in connection with the textile casing now to be described in that it enables the use, to advantage, of semi-tubular metal bars and provides a simple and effective means for connecting the bar and springs which may be readily made at small expense and which avoids the possibility of disconnection in use.

It is desirable with springs of this character to hold them under a certain degree of compression and also to have the extent to which they are restrained uniform, so that the top coils of the whole series will be at a uniform level. The particular means for accomplishing this result, to which the present invention relates, is especially advantageous in connection with the type of wire spiral spring disclosed, in which the coils increase in diameter from the bottom to the top, and in which they are attached to metal cross bars as above described.

In forming the casing and in applying it to a spring, I first provide pieces 3, of textile material, such as burlap, cut out in such form that, when folded double 11, the piece has the trunco-conical form shown in Fig. 2, said pieces preferably being cut out in this form While folded double. Preferably two textile pieces or sections of the trunco conical shape above referredto are provided for each spring, and in applying them to a spiral spring, such as shown, they are passed about, or placed astride, opposite portions of the upper coil of the spring, so that the coil engages the middle of the fold, and the two portions of each piece depend therefrom. These portions are then drawn down from the upper coil outside the other coils, so that the lower ends thereof will terminate adj a cent the cross bar on which its spring is supported when the spring is unrestrained,-as indicated in Fig. 4:. The two textile sections are, also, so positioned on the coil of the spring that they depend at opposite sides of the cross bar 1. The adjacent ed e portions of said sections are then drawn together and joined by sewing in any convenient manner as by forming two side seams i, said seams being extended from the top to within a short distance of the lower edge, depending on the extent to which the. spring is to be initially compressed and on the size of the cross bar 1. The spring is then compressed and the textile sections are drawn down at each side of the cross bar and are drawn together beneath the bar until their edges meet and then the meeting ends are connected by a seam 6, as shown in Fig. 5, holding the spring in its restrained position. In attaching the edges of the sections 3 by the side scams 1, the material is drawn closely about the coils, and when the lower ends of the sections are connected by scams 6, the coils will be closely confined and restrained to the desired extent, so that the coils will be held from becoming distorted and also held with their top coils at the same level.

in practice, adjacent top coils are usually tied together in any convenient manner. It will be apparent that both textile sections for each spring may be made of a continuous piece of material so as to avoid forming one of the side seams 4, but it would be necessary to gather the extra-- fullness in some manner, as by sewing, and, as a matter of economy of material in cutting, the manner illustrated is considered the more economical. I

The connection of the side portions of the textile casing beneath the cross bar, after having been drawn down at each side thereof, in addition to affording an eifective means for restraining the springs at a certain level, also prevents the possibility of disconnection of the spring with the bar, particularly by becoming unscrewed therefrom whether the end portion of the spring is bent to prevent such disconnection, or not.

I claim: v

1. In an upholstery support, a supporting bar having a series of spiral springs each mounted at one end thereon, and a textile casing for each spring, each casing having portions thereof connected to opposite portions of the end coil of the spring opposite the bar and said casing portions being extended at each side of the spring and about the bar and connected to each other to permit the bar, acting thru the casing, to hold the spring in restraint.

2. In an uphosltery support, a horizontal supporting bar, a series of vertically disposed spiral springs having their bottom coils resting thereon and connected thereto, each spring having a textile casing connected to opposite portions of the upper coil thereof and extending downwardly therefrom at opposite sidesof the bar, the lower portions of said casing being. connected beneath the bar to hold the spring underrestraint.

3. In an upholstery support, a horizontal supporting bar having a series of spiral springs mounted thereon and extending vertically therefrom, a textile casing for each spring having portions thereof extending about opposite portions of the upper coil and downwardly outside the other coils and at opposite sides of said bar, the lower portions thereof being connected beneath the bar to hold the spring under restraint.

4. In an upholstery support, a horizontally disposed supporting bar having a series of vertically disposed spiral springs mounted thereon, a casing for each spring consisting of a doubled fold of textile material having its middle portion disposed about the upper coil of the spring and extending downward outside the other coils at each side of the bar, the opposite side edge portions of the casing being connected to hold the same in proximity to the coils and its lower edge portions being connected beneath the bar.

5; In an upholstery support, a horizontally disposed supporting bar having a series of vertically disposed spiral springs mounted thereon, a casing for each spring consisting of a doubled fold of textile material having its middle portion disposed about the upper coil of the spring throughout its length and having both folds drawn downward therefrom at opposite sides of said bar, the side edges of said folds being attached in the vertical plane of the bar to draw the same closely about the coils and the lower edges thereof being attached beneath the bar to hold the spring under restraint.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

JULIUS L. CABLE. 

